Chapter Text
It had to have been around 1977 when Beth found herself in a starched white dress, fluffed at the knees, with stockings and shiny black buckled shoes, standing in the corner of a mahogany room, filled with people much taller and much meaner than her.
She was ten- too old to be dressed like this, but her family wasn't exactly swimming in money, and it was the nicest thing she owned. It fit wrong, though, from where her mother had to keep letting it out at she gained weight.
This is also why Beth had been avoiding the buffet table all evening.
She watched quietly as her mother and her father, dressed in their best, mingled around. To be clear, this wasn't a millionaires soiree; it was a millionaire's potluck/ networking/ gambling/ drinking bash. That confusing amalgamation of Joe Cabot's wealth and his family values. A man down to Earth- as long at he was the one spinning it.
After standing silently and isolated for what felt like hours, Beth began to wander, testing the waters. She pretended to study the books on the shelves by the fireplace, even though she couldn't even read half their titles. Once it seemed no one was missing her from her spot in the corner, she got a little bolder, going so far as to leave the room and into the hall. The afternoon sun shone honey through the floor length windows and made the rich wood paneling look much more gold than brown.
Beth chased that glow around a corner and knocked straight into a boy, not much older than her, and they both fell right on their butts.
"Hey-!" The other kid began. Beth scrambled up and smoothed her dress, much more afraid of her mother's wrath than whoever she just knocked over.
"I'm sorry," she said, then held out a hand. The other kid, a boy, rubbed his backside and took the offer, standing as well.
"Nah, it's alright. I shoulda been looking where I was going. I'm Eddie."
He used the grip he already had on her hand to shake it.
"I'm Beth," she replied, now a little less afraid and just glad to see another kid.
"So, who do you know here?"
"My parents. Barbara and Milton Robertson."
"Oh, sure. Yeah, my dad thinks highly of them."
"Your dad?"
"Joe Cabot."
Beth felt her face flash red with embarrassment, and Eddie clearly noticed. His face fell into worry.
"Oh no! You're not in trouble or anything. I should be looking where I'm going in my own house. Say, what're you wandering around for, anyways?"
"I got bored."
Eddie laughed at that, and that made Beth smile.
"Me too. Hey, do you wanna play hide and seek? We'll probably have to keep it on this side of the house, but that don't mean there ain't plenty of good spots."
Beth's face lit up. "Yeah!"
"Okay, you hide, first. That way I don't start with the unfair advantage of knowing all the good spots."
Beth nodded excitedly and Eddie turned around, faced a wall, and covered his face.
"One Mississippi, two Mississippi..."
Beth wasted no time. First, she threw off her shoes so he couldn't hear her clunking around. Then, she sprinted down the hall, turning another corner so not to be so obvious. She opted for the first door on her left that just happened to be unlocked.
It was very clearly an office, with tall bookshelves and expensive looking furniture. The desk seemed wide enough, so she squeezed herself into the leg room underneath.
"Sixty! Ready or not, here I come!" Eddie's voice echoed through the halls.
Beth was practically giddy. She hadn't played with another kid in so long. She didn't have many friends at school, and the apartment complex that she and her parents lived in was occupied mostly by elders and shady figures. At least the rent was cheap.
But here was another kid that knew her family and obviously didn't care that she was poor, or that she didn't look like other kids. He just wanted to play.
Beth heard the door open and close and she clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle. She couldn't believe he had figured her out so fast. He must've known this was the perfect spot.
But then she heard a sigh and heavy footprints and her blood froze ice cold.
That wasn't Eddie.
And when the desk chair was pulled out from the desk, she quickly scrambled out and stood. Better to be discovered now than by getting a knee to the eye.
And she suppressed a squeal when the imposing form of Joe Cabot looked her over. And he didn't necessarily seemed surprised. More tired.
"I'm sorry, sir. Eddie and I, we were playing hide and seek, and..."
Her voice trailed off as Joe sat in his seat with a groan. He turned to face her.
"You're Barbara and Milton's girl, aren't you?"
Beth's palms began to sweat. What if she got her parents in trouble? What if Joe fired them?
"Y-yes, sir."
Joe stood again, and Beth backed up again on instinct.
"Get back under the desk. I'm not gonna give you away."
Beth was frozen in place.
"Well, go on. He always hides in here."
Still cold, Beth managed a nod and returned to her spot. Joe meandered over to the shelves right as she heard the door being thrown open.
"Oh, daddy!" Eddie's voice came. "Sorry. I'm playing hide and seek with Beth Robertson."
Joe looked around the room.
"Well, she's not in here. Better get going before she moves spots."
"Dammit, I didn't even think about that."
"Language!" Joe scolded as the door closed again. "You can come out, now."
Beth obeyed, still slightly afraid.
"You're better off hiding where you all started. He'll never find you that way."
Beth knocked her feet together. "Why didn't you give me away?"
Joe returned to his seat. "Your parents are good people, and I take care of my own. That extends to you, conditionally. So, if you need to hide from my son, I'm gonna help you out."
And then he smiled at her with the smile of a kind old man, and you'd never know that he was a criminal mastermind. Beth wouldn't for a very long time.
Beth was drifting in and out of consciousness in the back seat of the black Impala she and Pink had stolen. She still held a limp hand to her gunshot wound, but she was fading, fast. That memory was the one that decided to visit her before her death.
I take care of my own.
Beth began crying again, weakly. How could she have been so stupid? To go against Joe?
But then, wouldn't it all have turned out the same if she had ran? Wouldn't Joe have still showed up and pointed a gun at Orange, and White would've still lost it? She certainly didn't make a difference standing there screaming at them.
Shit. Did she ever make a difference at all?
Distantly, Beth felt the car come to a halt and heard a door open and close. Then another. Then she felt Pink's hands pull her from the seat and balance her at his side. She could hardly move her feet, but she certainly tried.
They approached an alleyway door and Pink banged on it with his fist. The sound rang through Beth's head and her vision tilted. Her head pressed against Pink's shoulder as she fought the urge to vomit.
"Hang on, kid," he said, then beat on the door again. "Benny! I know you're in there! Open the door."
The next sixty or so seconds passed by with an excruciatingly slow pace, and when the door finally opened, Beth's vision blackened and once again, she lost consciousness.